133. Small businessmen in the western border

"No, you guys keep training!" Jason Liu waved off the group of rookie soldiers. He had no interest in managing their drills. He wasn't very skilled at leading military exercises, and from what he saw, even after months of practice, these recruits might not meet his expectations.

Noticing Jon's absence that day, Jason asked curiously, "Where's Jon? Didn't he come today?"

McCann, one of the guards, replied honestly, "Coach Jon didn't show up today. He told us to continue training without him."

Bud, overhearing their conversation, chimed in, "I heard he went out of the city with Lord Stark. They took a lot of soldiers with them. Maybe something happened."

"Something happened?" Jason asked, puzzled. Westeros was in a time of relative peace—what could have gone wrong?

Bud guessed further, "It might have to do with the deserter from the Night's Watch. The soldiers from Winterfell caught him a few days ago."

Dicken nodded, adding hesitantly, "I heard from a servant who came to town to shop that Lord Stark interrogated the deserter. The man denied everything, which made Lord Stark furious. Rumor has it that Lord Stark might execute him personally—it's part of the Stark family tradition."

Jason now understood what was going on. If there were soldiers heading out of Winterfell, it must mean Eddard Stark planned to carry out the execution of the Night's Watch deserter.

Jason recalled the Stark family's approach to justice. They believed in teaching responsibility by making judgments and enforcing them personally. It was a long-standing tradition for a Stark lord to wield the blade during executions, a lesson in respecting the weight of power and justice.

Jason shook his head, unsure how he felt about such a practice. In his view, a lord's job was to follow the law fairly. Whether they carried out executions themselves or not didn't seem that important to him.

Later that day, Jason's attention turned to business.

Barlow soon found Odover, a merchant from the western border, along with a group of smaller traders staying at a local inn. Hearing that Jason was available, Odover and the others gathered their goods, prepared their carriages, and headed to Jason's store.

Odover, now looking much more polished than their last meeting, stepped forward. His beard was neatly trimmed, and his clothes looked far better than before, hinting at the profits he'd earned since their last trade.

"Honorable Lord Jason Easter, I greet you and your family with respect," Odover said, bowing deeply.

Jason noticed the formal tone and slight nervousness in Odover's voice. The merchant had recently learned that Jason was an earl—a high-ranking noble, second only to the king and the great lords of Westeros. For someone like Odover, this revelation was awe-inspiring.

In Westeros, commoners were often terrified of offending nobles. Strict social hierarchies and laws allowed lords to execute commoners with little consequence, further reinforcing this fear. Jason's foreign origins and approachable demeanor were exceptions that helped him recruit followers quickly.

Seeing Odover and the other merchants bowing respectfully, Jason smiled and invited them inside. "Come in, everyone. Let's talk business."

Once they were seated, Jason got straight to the point. "Odover, how many gold nuggets did you bring me this time? I've been looking forward to your return from the west."

Odover flushed slightly, embarrassed. "Lord Jason, I'm sorry to say I only managed to bring one piece myself. But I didn't come empty-handed—I gathered help from other merchants. Together, we've brought nine pieces of natural gold."

As he spoke, Odover reached into his bag and pulled out a tightly wrapped cloth bundle. Inside was a fist-sized gold nugget that gleamed in the light.

Encouraged by Odover's example, the other merchants stepped forward, each presenting one or two gold nuggets wrapped in cloth.

Jason examined the gold pieces on the table. The largest nugget was about the size of a palm and weighed several kilograms. In total, there were nine pieces.

"Let me weigh these first," Jason said, looking at the group. "I'll pay you based on the weight of the gold. Does that sound fair?"

The merchants eagerly nodded.

"Of course, Lord Jason. We trust you completely!"

"Your offer is already generous. We're grateful."

Jason smiled as the merchants expressed their gratitude. Buying natural gold nuggets and selling them to Jason had already earned them a tidy profit. Even more exciting was the opportunity to purchase goods from Jason's store—products that could be sold at a premium in the western border markets.

Jason called Lena to help weigh the gold. One by one, they carefully measured the nuggets.

The nine pieces weighed as follows:

1.35 kg, 1.62 kg, 2.37 kg, 2.81 kg, 4.11 kg, 4.39 kg, 4.77 kg, 5.02 kg, and 6.35 kg.

In total, the nuggets weighed 32.79 kilograms, which equaled 32,790 grams of gold. At Jason's agreed rate, this meant he owed the merchants 1,093 golden dragons.

However, the merchants weren't interested in taking golden dragons as payment. Instead, they wanted to buy Jason's goods, confident in their ability to resell them for a profit.

Jason agreed and recorded how much credit each merchant had earned. Then, the group began placing their orders.

The merchants eagerly purchased:

10,000 gel pens and 100,000 refills.10,000 bars of soap and 50,000 additional soap bars.100,000 sheets of A4 paper.5,000 sheets of A3 paper.500 toothbrushes and 500 tubes of toothpaste.

Toothbrushes and toothpaste were new items Jason had introduced, priced at one silver stag each. Seeing the potential, Odover boldly bought 500 of each.

By the end of the transaction, the merchants left satisfied, their carts loaded with goods they hoped would bring even greater profits in the western border markets.

Jason watched them leave, content with another successful deal

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